Several small FM translator signals that would have served various corners of the Twin Cities metro area aren’t being built, but one station included in this initial report has received an extension.
The stations had been granted during the FCC’s AM Revitalization effort. The new signals would have only reached a fraction of the Twin Cities area due to existing stations using the same frequencies in other parts of the metro.
The most recent cancellation was for W256DT/99.1, which would have relayed Nevada Radio-owned Conservative Talk station KQSP/1530 (Shakopee). It would have broadcast with 250 Watts from the WLOL/1330 transmitter site along the Minnesota River in Savage, covering parts of the southwest metro with a strong signal to Bloomington and Burnsville.
Though W256DT had been granted a six-month extension until Dec. 12, Nevada Radio’s attorney informed the FCC in an August letter that the company was surrendering the permit. No reason was given.
99.1 is also used by low-power stations in the northwest and east metro, as well as a Mankato-market station (KEEZ) with fringe coverage of the southwest metro.
Other FM construction permits that expired unbuilt earlier this year included:
- K231BO/94.1, which would have relayed ESPN affiliate KSTP/1500 from the IDS Center in downtown Minneapolis. The translator would have actually been a relocation by Hubbard Radio’s K235BP/94.9 (Bemidji) to Minneapolis as allowed under the first set of Revitalization filing windows. Due to an existing low-power FM station on the same frequency in St. Paul, K231BO would have broadcast with a highly directional signal 2-Watt signal pointed west, delivering a strong signal to parts of Minneapolis. The permit for the move expired April 1. K235BP remains licensed to Bemidji since it was not relocated.
- K287CH/105.3, which would have relayed Relevant Radio Catholic Talk station WLOL from a tower near Deephaven City Hall. The 30-Watt signal would have reached some of the suburbs around Lake Minnetonka but would have been on the same frequency as WLUP/105.3 (Cambridge), which serves the north metro. The permit expired unbuilt on June 13.
An earlier version of this article also noted that the construction permit for K285CQ/104.9, which was granted to Asian American Broadcasting’s KFXN/690 from its transmitter site in New Hope, was due to have expired in January. However, it turns out the FCC has granted a one-year extension until January 2022, though no documentation of this extension is available in the FCC database other than Jan. 12, 2022, now being listed as the expiration date.
If built, K285CQ’s 250-Watt signal would be strong in the northwest metro but would have competed with the fringe signal of WZEZ/104.9 (Balsam Lake, WI) in other parts of the metro.
Check out the updated Twin Cities FM Translator and LPFM Stations page for a full grid of translators and low-power FM stations in the metro.